After school ceramics series
$450
8-Week Series
Get off the couch, put down the phone, and get your hands dirty. 716 Ceramics Studio's After School Series gives teens a dedicated creative outlet in a real working pottery studio. Whether your teen has never touched clay or has been sketching pottery designs for years, this course meets them exactly where they are and builds real, tangible skills over eight weeks.
Each session combines short, focused demonstrations with plenty of hands-on making time in a relaxed environment where making mistakes is part of the process. Students leave with a collection of functional, fired pottery they made themselves — and a skill set that's genuinely hard to find anywhere else.
Beginner to Intermediate — no prior experience required. Students with some experience will be challenged at their level.
Experience Level
Age Requirement
12 - 18
8 weeks of active instruction
+ 1 dedicated makeup week
9 WEEKS TOTAL
Duration
Class time
Tuesday or Thursday, 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
+ 20-minute cleanup window
Class size
Maximum 12 students per discipline section per session to ensure individualized instruction.
Wheel throwing
Semester Curriculum overview
Week 1:
Introduction to the Wheel + Centering
Students meet their wheels. We cover studio safety, tool identification, and the most fundamental — and most frustrating — skill in pottery: centering the clay. Expect wet hands and a lot of laughs.
Week 2:
Opening + Pulling
Your First Cylinder
With centered clay, students learn to open a floor and pull walls upward to create their first cylinder form. Focus is on consistent wall thickness and keeping the form controlled.
Week 3:
Shaping
Bowls + Curves
Students revisit centering and cylinders, then learn how to push outward and shape a bowl. Demo covers how body position, pressure angle, and clay consistency all affect the final shape.
Week 4:
Trimming
Cleaning up the base
Leather-hard pieces from Weeks 2–3 are trimmed on the wheel. Students learn to flip and reattach a piece, use trimming tools safely, and create clean, stable feet.
Week 5:
Handles
Pulled + Attached
Demo covers how to pull a handle directly from a clay coil and attach it seamlessly to a mug form. Students work on their mug projects from earlier weeks.
Week 6:
Throwing off the hump
Small Forms
Students learn to throw multiple small forms from a single large ball of clay without re-centering between pieces — a more efficient technique for sets of small items like shot cups or sake cups.
Week 7:
Glaze Introduction + Application
The bisque-fired work from earlier weeks is ready. Students learn about glaze chemistry at a basic level, review the glaze area rules, and apply their chosen glazes following all studio guidelines.
Week 8:
Freestyle + Portfolio Review
Open studio time to throw independently, refine techniques, and make any final pieces. Informal group portfolio review — students share what clicked, what was hard, and what they want to try next.
Handbuilding
Semester Curriculum overview
Week 1:
Introduction to Handbuilding
Pinching
Students explore the oldest technique in ceramics: pinch construction. By the end of class, each student has a small pinch pot — rough around the edges, but entirely their own.
Week 2:
Coil Building
Tall Forms
Learn to roll consistent coils, score and slip joints, and build upward to create taller, more structurally ambitious vessels. Focus on smoothing techniques to unify the coils into a solid wall.
Week 3:
Slab Construction Flat to Functional
Demo covers rolling even slabs, cutting clean templates, and joining slab edges to build box forms, mugs, or small trays. Students begin their primary slab project for the semester.
Week 4:
Surface Design
Texture, Stamps + Carving
With leather-hard pieces from Week 3, students explore surface decoration: pressing texture molds, carving designs, and using slip trailing to add dimension to flat surfaces.
Week 5:
Multi-Part Assemblies
Lids + Attachments
Demo focuses on building fitted lids for box forms, throwing or pinching knobs, and the mechanics of a good gallery (the internal ledge that holds a lid in place).
Week 6:
Sculptural Forms
Going Beyond Function
Students explore free-form sculptural work — ceramic creatures, abstract wall pieces, or representational forms. Demo covers armature considerations, avoiding air pockets, and controlled drying for complex shapes.
Week 7:
Glaze Introduction & Application
Bisque-fired work is ready for glazing. Students review glaze area rules and apply color choices to their collection, making strategic decisions about which surfaces to glaze and which to leave raw.
Week 8:
Freestyle + Portfolio Review
Open handbuilding time and informal group portfolio review. Students discuss their process, challenges, and favorite pieces from the semester.
DETAILS
Your tuition includes a 40 lb allotment of standard studio clay, which covers all subsequent house glazes and bisque/glaze firings.
Clay Allotment
Additional Clay + Firing Fees
Additional studio clay can be purchased for $2.00 per pound (this price includes the raw clay, house glazes, and all subsequent firings).
Tools Provided
Standard studio tools are provided for use during your scheduled class time.
To safeguard our kilns and prevent firing accidents, outside clays, slips, or glazes from other studios or external suppliers are strictly prohibited in our facility. All materials used must originate from 716 CERAMICS STUDIO.
Kiln Safety Policy
Enrollment includes full access to the facility during our designated Open Studio Hours for independent practice and project development throughout the entire 9-week session.
MON – THU: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
FRI & SAT: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
SUN: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Studio Access + Open Studio Hours
STUDIO POLICIES + EXPECTATIONS
A minimum of 5 enrolled students is required to run an After School Series session. In the rare event a session does not meet minimum enrollment, you will be notified at least one week in advance and issued a full refund.
Class MinimuM
Makeup Week
Includes one scheduled makeup session held the week following the final class to ensure all your glazed work is ready for the final kiln firing.
Hard Two-Week Refund Policy
Tuition is refundable (minus a standard credit card processing/service fee) only if a cancellation request is submitted at least 14 days (2 weeks) prior to the first day of the semester. Cancellations made within the 14-day window or after the semester begins are strictly non-refundable and non-transferable.
If 716 CERAMICS STUDIO cancels the session due to insufficient enrollment or instructor emergency, a full refund will be issued.
Shelf Space + Unclaimed Work
(The 30/60 Rule)
Due to high studio volume and limited shelf capacity, strict timelines are enforced:
ABANDONED GREENWARE (30 Days): Any unfinished, bone-dry, or leather-hard greenware left on the student shelves for more than 30 days without activity will be recycled to clear space.
FINISHED FIRED POTTERY (60 Days): Completed, glaze-fired pottery will be held on the pickup shelves for a maximum of 60 days (2 months) from the final day of the semester. Students are solely responsible for tracking and retrieving their pieces. Any work left unclaimed past these dates will be cleared, recycled, or disposed of.
If you have any questions, any feedback, or suggestions for our classes or for potential visiting instructors, please do not hesitate to reach out at info@716ceramicsstudio.com